I'm back! I decided I needed a break from pushing myself to hard to be perfect both with the blog and in life in general. But now I'm back and I'm coming at you today with a haul of epic proportions. Over the last few months I've been collecting everything I've brought beauty wise for this giant haul. A lot of them are repurchases, some of them are new discoveries and a few of them are in preparation for the wedding I'm going to this month.
I'm going to kick things off with the travel sized cuties I've brought to take with me to Naomi's wedding later this month. The first thing I picked up was the IT Cosmetics CC Cream. I'd heard so many good things about this since I started my blog and I've always wanted to try it. So when I saw my local Boots were now stocking it in their newly refurbished beauty hall, I just had to try it. I've worn this a couple of times and it's amazing. I brought the travel sized to initially try it and to save some room in my make up bag when I go up to Sheffield. I can tell you now though, I'll definitely be buying the full size bottle when I get paid next.
The next new travel sized product I brought to both try out and take away with me is the Too Faced Hangover X Spray. Again Too Faced is now easier to access for me so I of course had to pick up the primer water that I'd heard so much about. I haven't tried this yet but what I really like is that this can be used both under and over make up meaning I've saved even more room in my make up bag when I pack. Will I buy the full sized bottle, come back to me at the end of the month and I'll let you know.
The penultimate item I brought for the wedding was a travel sized pot of the Clinique Take The Day Off Balm. I needed something to take to Sheffield to remove my make up off with and as I already love this balm, it was a no brainer. And I can't get over how dinky and cute this tiny pot is. I still need to buy a travel sized moisturiser so I'm tempted to go back and buy the travel sized of the Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrator.
The last thing I brought in preparation for the wedding is in fact a repurchase. The Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Out Loud is one of my absolute favourite lipsticks and it just happens to match the colour theme I've got going on for the wedding. If you've never seen Out Loud as a shade, it's a very beautiful pumpkin, burnt orange shade and ties in beautifully with my dress, shoes and bag. I've loved this shade since I brought it and mine was on it's way out so I obviously needed to repurchase one for the wedding.
Shall we move onto the plethora of repurchases I've got to share with you. Let's kick things off with the most exciting of the bunch. I finally caved and brought a full sized bottle of the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. I absolutely adore ANR. It works wonders on my spots and helps to even out my skin whenever it's feeling a little worse for wear. A little bit of this goes a long way and whilst it's expensive, it's well worth every penny.
Boots at one point had an amazing deal on their Pixi products so I of course had to pick a fresh bottle of both my Retinol Tonic and Glow Tonic. Both of these are everyday essentials for me and have helped take my skin from a temperamental wreck to feeling like a goddess. And being only £12 a bottle at the time, I'd have been silly not to have ordered them.
Another repurchase I made was for the Nip And Fab Glycolic Fix Extreme 6%. It's my go to toner when my skin is breaking out and when the XXL bottle is only a fiver more than the small bottle, it was a no brainer for me. This will last me for ages so I don't mind paying a little more for something I know that works.
Alongside my ANR and Nip And Fab Toner, I can't live without my Palmers' Facial Oil. I normally wait until it's on a half price deal to stock up but I was close to running out and I couldn't fathom letting my skin go without it so I just brought it full price. It's not the most expensive product out there but I always like being able to save a little money where I can.
The Soap And Glory Peaches And Clean Cleansing Milk is one of my go to cleansers and annoyingly my current bottle had gotten to the point where nothing wants to come out even though there are tons of product left in the bottom of the bottle. I wish Soap And Glory would change their packaging so that I didn't end up wasting tons of product each time I buy this.
A product I always get every last drop out of is the Botanics Rosewater Toning Spray. This is a great budget dupe for the Liz Earle Skin Tonic Spritz. I tend to reach for this more during the summer months when it's warm and my skin needs to be constantly refreshed. Ideally I'd have like to have taken this when we go up to Sheffield but unfortunately the packaging is a bit to bulky for my weekend bag.
I literally ran out of sheet masks halfway through last month. I couldn't believe it, I'm usually more on the ball with repurchasing them but I completely lost track of how many I had used. So I repurchased some of my favourites including these two from Soap And Glory. The Miracle Moisture Mask is my favourite of the two as it fits wonderfully to the face, works wonders on the skin and doesn't cost the earth unlike other masks of it's type. The Radiance Boost isn't one I'd normally choose but they didn't have the pore refining mask when I brought them so it had to do.
Boots ran out of my holy grail scrub for a good two months so when it finally came back in stock I went a little mad and brought four. Yes you read that right, I brought four. There was no need to put all four in the picture but I did in fact buy four so that I don't have to worry about running out for a while. The Sugar Crush Body Scrub from Soap And Glory is the only scrub that actually makes a difference to my skin. Nothing else works as well and I was more than happy when I spotted it sitting on the shelves of my local boots.
I also brought another of the Fizz-A-Ball Bath Bombs from Soap And Glory. This post isn't sponsored, I just really love Soap And Glory products. This bath bomb isn't a luxurious as the ones you pick up in Lush but it does smell divine and adds a little bit more luxury to your soak in the bath.
A couple of months back Barry M released their Serum Mists. Different from their Primer Water and Setting Sprays, these sprays are designed to work under your make up as well as over your make up as a refresher. I'm actually already on my second bottle of the Coconut Spray as it's just divine and I end up spraying myself with more of it than is necessary. The Cucumber one is going to be an essential through the Summer months and I'm really tempted to take it to Sheffield with me even though it's got some slightly bulky packaging.
I have never been able to be loyal to a mascara. And recently none of my mascaras were doing anything for me so I went and repurchased my favourite from Loreal. The Volume Million Lashes Couture has an amazing silicone barrel shaped brush that catches every tiny lash and gives them a massive boost. It's only downfall is that Loreal mascaras are a bitch to remove but it doesn't stop me slapping a ton of this on everytime.
The Benefit They're Real Tinted Lash Primer is the only lash primer I like out of the many I've tried so when mine showed signs of running out, I snuck over to my local Benefit stand (the women there scare me) and picked up a fresh tube. I think what makes this stand out from other lash primers is that you can wear it on it's own without it being obvious. I didn't think to pick up a travel size tube of this for the wedding and I refuse to go without it so it looks like I'm going to be taking the full size with me.
If you've been around for a while then you'll know I love the Maybelline SuperStay Matte Inks. I already own quite a few but there was still a couple of shades that I had my eye on but just hadn't got round to buying. So when work offered me 20% extra off make up alongside my work discount I just couldn't resist picking them up. Lover is the most stunning cool toned pink shade that has a wonderful lilac undertone that pairs well with numerous looks. I've worn this several times and may have brought a couple of t-shirts recently based on how good it's going to look paired with this shade. And Dancer I haven't worn yet but I plan on getting a lot of wear out of during the Summer. It's more orange than the other reds I own from this range and I think it's going to look amazing paired with my fair complexion and dark hair.
Earlier in the year Pixi released a shit ton of new products and one that really caught my eye were there packs of sheet masks. There are two types, the Glycolic trio and the Collagen Boost trio that I picked up. There are three in this box and they only cost a tenner. A TENNER! There are some brands that charge double that for just one. I've used one of these already and I really like how it made my skin feel. However recently I've let my self care/skincare routine drop and it's definitely showing.
Last year Simple launched a range of sheet masks but they left a lot to be desired which they obviously realised and this year they've come back and launched a new range of under eye patches and hydro gel sheet masks. These Brightening Under Eye Patches are amazing. I actually brought two packs, one of which I've already worn and I love them. They don't fold in on themselves as you apply them, they're not saturated in too much product and they don't slip down your face when you move. They don't have the most groundbreaking results but they do leave the skin under my eyes feeling super soft and hydrated.
And finally I have another pair of Simple Under Eye Patches to share with you and a Hydra Gel Sheet Mask. Both from Simple's Water Boost range, these claim to keep skin hydrated for longer but without the heavy feeling of cream. I'm always sceptical when brands make claims like these but I'm willing to give them a go. And as with all the new products in this haul if I like them then you'll see them in a favourites or review.
